Genesis 1:2 • formless and void

Gen 1:2 → The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

• This verse can be a little confusing. Is this part of the first day? Or is it pre-the 6 days of creation? This verse definitely does set the stage for the 6 pronged creative event.

• When the text says "formless and void" it literally means that there are no defining shapes (mountains, etc.) and is empty. A big round ball of clay, like something waiting for the potter to shape. Nothing to tell top from bottom, side from side, just complete lack of definitive texture.

• "Darkness" isn't like overcast, or twilight, but rather denotes the total lack of light. Zero, zip, nada. If you've ever been on a cavern tour, and the tour guide turns off the lights, you'll totally understand what I mean. In that scenario, you can't even see your hand right in front of your face. It's quite scary being deep in the bowels of the earth, and then not being able to see to get back out!

• The phrases "surface of the deep" and "surface of the waters" let us know that to add to the lack of visual distinctives on the earth itself, it is also totally covered with water. If you've ever watched the movie "Waterworld" you'll get the idea of an endless, flat (at least that's what it looks like when you're at sea level), body of water that just runs all the way to the horizon - in all directions. If you were lost at sea, with no compass, and could see no stars, how would you know which way to move to find land (unless you have a little girl with a tattoo on her back - watch the movie if you don't understand this reference)? We have no idea how deep the "deep" is. Could be inches. Could be miles. We're not told the depth, only the breadth. It covers the entire planet.

• The statement "the Spirit of God was moving" can lead one to have an image of some angelic being zipping back and forth over the earth like some kind of attack helicopter. Or like a spiritual building construction foreman running back and forth at the jobsite with his hard hat on and his clipboard in hand. But the word "moving" is often translated in other versions of the Bible (NKJV, ESV, NIV for example) as "hovering", which gives this phrase more of an idea of the Spirit waiting above the earth in anticipation of the coming creative process, looking forward with expectation to the events about to unfold.

• In like fashion, I think that sometimes we need to "hover" over the events of the world and in our own lives and wait to see what the Creator will do. We have our plans, and dreams, and desires, but sometimes those are unfulfilled. Life events often will change the course of our momentum, and take us to places we never anticipated or expected. Or in some cases, wanted. When I was a young man in Southern California, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would end up living in Oklahoma for 30 years (after 16 years in Kansas), but here I am. All of my favorite places are toward the west coast, but my life now is in OK. So I think sometimes we just need to "hover" and wait in anticipation to see what God is going to bring in our lives next.